How to choose a good tent for camping and recreation - all types, tips and videos

Drawn to a hike? Did you find free time for yourself and decided to get out into nature? You have already collected everything you need for the trip - you have a sleeping bag, a bowler hat, and even an excellent camping knife, but you don’t have a tent ... No, it won’t work like that, there’s nothing to do without a tent in nature, it will be very useful to you on a hike.

Well, if you are already an experienced super-extreme who doesn’t take a tent into the forest out of principle, like I’m like a real professional and don’t take anything with me except a knife and a bugger, then okay…

Well, if you don’t want to sleep in the open air, don’t want to be taken by surprise by bad weather, so that you have somewhere to hide from the rain and wind, and at the same time you don’t want to bother building all sorts of shelters like a hut, then you simply need a tent!

Let's say that you don't have a tent yet, maybe it's for the best, because after reading this article you will already know how to choose the right tent. It seems to be a simple task, I went to the store and bought it, the consultant will tell you everything and show you there, maybe it’s true, but in reality it can turn into another bullshit sold to you.

Let's move on to choosing a tent.

What should she be? It should be remembered that it will serve as your home, so it must meet the following requirements - the tent must protect you from rain and strong winds, it must not be stuffy in the heat and it must be strong enough. The tent should be comfortable and secure.

What factors should be taken into account?

The first factor is weight.

If you are going to travel by car, then this is a different matter, you can not pay much attention to this, you can even take a huge tent for ten people, throw it into the car and it's done. If you are a pedestrian, or just throw yourself in a car to a certain place, and then you need to go a long way on foot, then you should take something more compact - an option up to 5 kilograms is quite suitable. You can find a lighter option - these are lightweight tents, ultra-light, but they will cost more, and the stability of such tents in strong winds leaves much to be desired.

The second factor is the design

There are single-layer and double-layer tents. Single-layer tents are made of waterproof synthetics, but in heavy rain they still get wet, and since there is no second breathable layer, condensation forms inside, and in the heat it is stuffy, terrible, unfortunately they are not suitable for serious hiking, they will come down as a beach option , but no more than that.

Even a novice tourist is better not to take it ever, do not look at the fact that it is cheaper, then you will regret it a hundred times. Two-layer ones are the best option - they seem to consist of two tents, one is a breathable mesh, serves to remove any fumes, and the second tent is already made of waterproof material, in such a tent it is not so stuffy in the summer in the heat and more useful in rainy weather .

You should also pay attention to the arcs. There are fiberglass and aluminum. Consider fiberglass - they are the cheapest, this can be said to be their only plus, otherwise there are only minuses - they are heavy, fragile, afraid of ultraviolet rays. Aluminum, on the other hand, have many advantages - they are light, durable, and not afraid of frost. Of course, they are better than fiberglass.

The third factor is, of course, water resistance.

No doubt, this factor is the most important in a tent, because you always need to stay dry during a hike. Water resistance depends on the material and the number of layers of impregnation. Usually it is indicated as a column of water in mm per unit area, for example, for protection from light rain, a tent with a water resistance of an awning from 900 mm to 2000 mm of water column and a water resistance of the bottom from 2000 mm to 5000 mm is quite suitable.

The water resistance of the awning and the bottom of the tent are almost always different, for the bottom it should be much higher. It is also very important what this bottom is made of, inexpensive models usually use reinforced propylene, but it is more prone to wear, expensive models use cooler materials - polyester, Oxford PU 150D or 70D Nylon and Nylon Taffeta PU (10000mm). In short, the term price-quality is best suited here.

The fourth factor is the dimensions of the bed.

Their manufacturer must indicate. But you can calculate this parameter yourself. Let's say the width of the tent is 180 cm, we take 60 cm for the size of one bed (the width of the tourist rug), as a result, we get 180:60 = 3 (only 3 people can sleep in this tent)

Also tents can be divided into types

The first type is a dvuhskatka

Previously, they were called "Pamirs". These were the first tents. They are produced now, but it is better not to consider this option for purchase at all. Why? Yes, because it has a lot of drawbacks - it is absolutely not suitable for windy weather, not suitable for extreme conditions, besides, it is single-layer and it is very difficult to install it alone. It is worth buying it only for the price, because it is inexpensive.

The second type is the "semi-rib". It is also called the "tunnel". This tent is considered the most comfortable for living. But such tents are heavy and it is rather difficult to put it up alone. The advantages of semi-barrels include the fact that almost all of them have 2 entrances and quite roomy vestibules, which is very convenient for storing things.

The third type is "turtle"

It also has the names "dome" or "hemisphere". This is the only type of tent that can be set up without the use of pegs, it is the lightest among the two-layer ones. “Turtles” have from one to four entrances, they come with and without vestibules, there are a lot of varieties of them.

In principle, if you are not so often fond of tourism, you can buy a good (Chinese) tent within 100 bucks and not bathe, with careful handling and proper care, it will serve you for more than one year. But if you quite often get out into the forest or travel through the mountains, and for the mountainous area you also need an appropriate tent, then it’s better not to be stingy and buy something more expensive.

We also recommend watching a video that will help you decide on the choice of tent.